Happy Birthday Grandpa Johnson - 92 years young!

Last night we celebrated Grandpa Johnson's 92nd birthday. His birthday is November 2, however, due to Ed being out of town for the next four weeks (stay tuned for a future blog on this) we decided to celebrate with him early.

The birthday dinner menu consisted of :

NY Strip Steaks/Filet Mignon on the grill
French Potato Gratin
Roasted Carrots with a local honey glaze (A friend harvests this honey from her bees!)
Caesar Salad
Warm, French, crusty bread

Dessert was a request from Ed's dad and was: Blueberry pie a la mode - a la Mazza's Farmstand as well! :-) It was delicious!

It was a fun evening and we were glad that we were able to celebrate his birthday with him....we never really get this opportunity. They are usually back in Florida way before the birthday date, so this was a rare and unexpected treat.



Grandma Johnson, herself 86 years young, joins in the celebrating!


The requested birthday dessert - courtesy of Sam Mazza's lovely bakery! Pie a la Mazza.....


Bryan with Grandma and Grandpa Johnson


Three generations of Johnson men. Bryan at 21 years old, Eddie at 52 years old and Edward at 92 years old.


Happy Birthday to you!!

Cooking for the Boys

Cooking is a hobby AND a passion and I can safely say that Bryan and his fellow roommates have enjoyed the fruits of my labor. :-) Over the past three 1/2 years, while Bryan has been enrolled at UVM, I have enjoyed countless opportunities to provide "the boys" with many meals and snacks. I have really enjoyed all of the cooking and delivering - whether it was to University Heights (Freshman year dorm), or to Simpson Hall (Sophomore address), Buell Street (Junior year address) or to Pearl Street (Senior year address). I have also happily catered a few Super Bowl parties as well and loved every minute of it! :-)

The most recent meal cooked and delivered involved 6 pounds of boneless pork shoulder, that was transformed into several pulled pork sandwiches. The delivery was so welcomed on a Sunday afternoon - the perfect meal after a day of studying and football watching!



The transforming magical ingredients!



The "before shot" of the pork.


The "after shot" of the pork - after ten hours in the crockpot.


After the shredding and ready for.......


...a "touch" of the best bottled barbecue sauce.....AND then......



.....voila.....the finished product - on a very nice Kaiser roll with cole slaw. YUM!

Judy and Shirl

Yesterday was Judy's birthday! I'm so glad that I was able to share in a bit of joy just prior to my visit to the infamous podiatrist. :-( I have been working with Judy for fifteen years, and with Shirley for ten years. We've shared a lot of history together.
Shirley and I brought lunch into school and enjoyed Judy's favorite chicken ranch pizza (!! Wow, is this pizza ever great!!!) a lovely Caesar salad, and the most amazing chocolate mouse torte! The photos were taken in the library at Union Memorial School..



Two dear friends + delicious food + a celebration of some sort = a lot of fun! Happy Birthday Judy - Cheers to many, many, more.

And then there were nine.....it happened in a flash.

At the beginning of the week I had ten toenails....by Friday, I had nine. It all happened in a flash, at school, and involved a collision with a student - who had huge feet. ;-( Sorry to bore you all with such a mundane and semi-gross entry this week, however, a lot of people have asked about my toe - so I thought I would blog it all as an update.

I did see the Podiatrist on Friday who did remove the nail - (since it was half off anyway.....sorry for the details!). So now I soak, medicate it with iodine, wrap it, and wait. According to Dr. Guerra, I will have a shiny new nail in about 9 months!!! YIKES....I never knew it took this long to grow a new toenail. Who knew????? Anyway, I am just glad that it will happen over the winter months so I won't have to deal with such an ugly toe during "sandal season". :-)

By the way, just so you know, having that toenail removed was traumatic....UGH!

On to brighter topics......I promise! ;-)

Fall in Vermont - aka Heaven on Earth

Fall in Vermont has definitely arrived and Ed and I decided to go out this morning and be leaf peepers - to enjoy all of the beauty and splendor that comes with an October afternoon in beautiful Vermont. We left our house and traversed our way through the mountains - on one side, Cambridge and Jeffersonville and on the other, Stowe and Waterbury. The sites were breathtaking. We enjoyed stops all along the way to enjoy the colors....many of which are documented below. Enjoy the pictorial adventure.....we surely did!








I am just always in awe of the fact that we can be traveling down the road and all of sudden come across a view like this.....amazing. Eddie stopped in the middle of the road and snapped this photo...










We stopped in Waterbury at the Reservoir Restaurant and Tap Room and enjoyed a glass of Switchback and a lovely lunch!


Without a waitress around, Eddie took this photo of us enjoying those brews!


Switchback.....local microbrew.....my personal favorite and I'm not a beer lover. So ironic that they serve it in a Sam Adams glass.....doesn't even come close!!!


Yes, this is Switchback in that Sam Adams glass.....it's really too bad that the beer is unavailable for purchase in stores! If you are out of state you will all just have to visit Vermont to enjoy it - come on up...down....or over!



My lovely salad with local greens, roasted red and yellow beets, candied walnuts, a local goat cheese with a balsamic vinaigrette. So delicious......


Eddie's lunch - Fish and Chips in a Switchback batter....again, delicious!


Our final stop on our way home....Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in Waterbury. A wonderful way to end the day.

The sights of Burlington!

A week ago, Eddie and I found ourselves wandering downtown Burlington on a sunny, warm, September afternoon. I brought along my camera to capture a bit of what makes Burlington so special to us....the Marketplace - and all of its energy and beauty.







One of our most favorite breakfast/lunch spots in Burlington - Penny Cluse! We stopped in for lunch while on our photo tour....delish as always.



No explanation needed! Peace, Love, and Ice Cream!!


Leunig's....this is where you will find us on a sunny, warm evening....enjoying a lovely dinner....or New Year's Eve too - where we will ring in yet another New Year.



My most favorite place to browse :-) Ed...not so much! :-(



Eddie's sisters all need to comment on this one! :-)



A bit of street art comes to the Marketplace during the summer of 2010 - showcasing Vermont artists and promoting tourism. This cow is from Woody Jackson - a well known Vermont artist. We enjoyed viewing the cows all summer.....



A photo of City Hall in Burlington. Located on the bottom of Church Street - a beautiful and historic landmark on the Marketplace.



Another institution on Church Street - Sweetwater's. We have enjoyed many wonderful meals at this location!


Nothing like shoe shopping and a pedicure at Tootsie's!

Apple galette, anyone?

My dear friend Mary from Boston inspires me to be a better cook and baker. Mary is the type of cook who never needs (or wants!) a recipe. She creates delicious meals each and every day - some by pure invention, ALL by sheer creativity and design.

Today, Mary inspired me again.....

The last five apples from our Hackett's Apple Orchards picking fest have been staring at me for the past few days. I decided to consult Mary this afternoon - she rattled off a few key ingredients - and voila......I created this luscious apple galette!

Thank you Mary!! I only wish you were here to enjoy a slice with us....Cheers to our next baking adventure.



Here it is....ready for the oven! Filled to the brim with Vermont fresh apples.






After the oven has worked its magic - my kitchen smells heavenly.